Moa is a rock star's best friend who tags along on her US tour. Which is filled with sex, drugs, and regrets.

This is the second graphic novel I have read from a Nordic author. I enjoyed Baby Blue by Bim Eriksson and was hoping for something along those lines.

Buff Soul was nothing like the dystopic Baby Blue. While the art style was still eclectic and clean, the story was rough. It feels like a shame-filled memoir about nothing. There is no linear progress or real growth. This feels like a novel glorifying the rockstar lifestyle with a pithy message at the end.

Poignant, evocative, expressive, a fantastic graphic memoir about being young but not so young that you're insulated from consequences, trying to toe the line between self-immolation and wanting to forget, for a little. Loved the art style, too!!

I love the art style and the expressive way the story is told limited exposure. I feel inspired and connected to these characters and find myself wishing this was longer!

This is a graphic novel that shocks with both the story and the art style. All of the characters have comically large bodies, they live lives that are chaotic, lives that destroy them as well. It was another pretty interesting memoir and all of the experiences shown here are important to share with the world no doubts. The story telling however was sometimes too messy to figure out what exactly is happening. I understand it may have been the author's intent but unfortunately it feel rather flat for me. And I personally wasn't the fan of the art style as well. The premise and "the vibe" were pretty eye catching tho.

I think this will reach its intended audience and land, and I was hoping I'd be part of it, but I am unfortunately not. It's mostly the art style (which has little to do with the writing, of course) I didn't jive with--just found it a bit distracting, after a while. I still think it will find its audience, though!

[English is not my native language, sorry for the mistakes]
Buff Soul is an autobiographical story of graphic artist Moa Romanova, who was at the time manager of a swedish two-piece rock band doing a tour in the USA between L.A. and Texas. The experience is a mix of friendly moments, drug and alcohol use, parties and sex, but the final point is to describe the kinda fucked-up, mentally exhausting lifestyle of the bands on tour, with the potential bad endings.
After a little adjustment time to the very original psychedelic style of Moa Romanova, I found the whole comic very real and convincing, carrying both distress and kindness in a beautiful way.

It was fun being reunited with Shitkid and the Melvins again and seeing how LA treated them (and how they treated LA). Moa’s depiction of the past blending into the present felt were handled so beautifully. I really enjoyed the message at the end too because it means I also have a buff soul.
One criticism is the white lettering used which kept changing back and forth, it made it very hard to read digitally so hopefully the final version doesn’t use this to make it more accessible.

a really compelling work with a totally unique art style, but i will note that when i read a graphic novel that i need the text to be so clear and readable. the lettering in this one was inconsistent, and the bolder text was near impossible to read and required a good bit of squinting on my part. i think that this one could have also benefited from a little bit of organizational editing, because the difference between dialogue-free sections and dialogue-heavy sections felt unintentionally abrupt.

I adored this book. Moa Romanova's beautiful artwork perfectly complements their memoir, adding touches of humor and quirk to this touching story about friendship, addiction, and life on tour. Romanova’s story exemplifies the lengths we go to in order to look after those closest to us, even when it comes at a personal cost. The loyalty and strength these characters show is what keeps them going—and, in the end, saves them from their own demons. This book is so much more than just an "LA rock 'n' roll" story. It's layered, complex, and illustrated to perfection.

A gorgeous graphic novel about a rock star-adjacent Moa who is grappling with moments between drug-fueled joy when perspective hits and she wonders "Is this really good for my friends? Is this really good for me?"
Moa Romanova has a very distinct art style- small heads, big hands and feet, and geometric hair styles. I personally LOVE the proportions of her characters, the line art and limited colors of Buff Soul! There are a few instances where one panel takes up the whole page- no dialogue just image. These were my favorite moments- they slowed down the plot and laser focused my attention on one detail. Contrasted with the chaos of the plot on other pages, these moments left me breathless with their beauty and calm.
It is hard to review the plot of this graphic novel without ruining the experience for new readers. The story of the band touring America is interlaced with dream-like sequences of a few panels each of a stark, single colored world. These moments seem random and come up at times when Moa is contemplative, sad, or both. It is later revealed that these moments are a specific, traumatic memory that is haunting Moa and pushing her to change her drug- and sex-fueled actions and make better choices.
The most lasting impression of Buff Soul is the connection between Asa and Moa- their ability to be real with each other- really happy, really free, really mad, and the repair they do to keep each other in their lives.

*ARC Review*
From mental illness and drug abuse to wayward tampons, this book gives a fantastic portrayal of the darker side of girlhood. I love the interesting art style as it is slightly off-putting when compared to a more common style and gives the characters a much more raw appearance. The dialogue is quick-witted, yet believable.

Intense at times, funny at others, Buff Soul is a unique glimpse into the whirlwind of life on tour. The illustrations are distinctive and expressive, with a color palette and texture that brings to mind risograph prints. Moa Romanova’s style depicts exaggerated bodies with large limbs and small heads, so that even if the face is not the focal point in a panel, the hands and body positioning still convey emotion. That being said, I really loved the way facial expressions are illustrated. Humor found in bleak moments is shown with such nuance, it really serves to further express the connection between Moa and Åsa. Flashbacks to a traumatic event in Moa’s life are shown in a different palette and interspersed with the rest of the narrative very effectively. As someone who enjoys graphic novel memoirs, I found myself very invested in this story and art.

I was excited to have an advance copy of this graphic novel and yet this is one of the trickiest reviews I am writing.

The characters features and the proportions make me slightly uncomfortable reading this. Are they distorted to represent the ongoing binge, possibly? The colour palette is fabulous and could read as a graphic novel suitable for a school library - which it definitely isn't!

Who would I recommend it to? I really don't know and this why I couldn't rate it higher. It's a very niche, adult graphic novel.

I thought the title was catchy and I did read what this book would be about. It is not my type of book. The illustrations had me wondering what the pictures were on quite a few pages. I know it is reality of drinking and drugs, but I find it sad, I am glad there was a happy ending.